


Insist

by Mayantalay



Category: Black Sails
Genre: F/M, M/M, Strong Characters, confused Silver (a bit), during and after 3x10, just about how Silver ended at the "council"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 02:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8270074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayantalay/pseuds/Mayantalay
Summary: The fact that Silver, as a sole quatermaster, is at the table with leaders, isn´t a coincidence. But maybe everybody makes wrong conclusions about how he got there in the first place. Nobody asked the question - whose suggestion it was, to bring him there?
...
Just because I wanted Flint talking about how important Silver is. And some Madi - Flint - Silver interactions. And confused Silver.My first attempt to write something for public (ever), and also English isn´t my first language, so I am apologizing for any mistakes :)





	

The island isn´t calm. Not at all. Not yet.

As he looks across the river, he knows, that the world had shifted beneath his feet. He knows it now. Maybe he knew it before already. If not, he would never let the events happens as they did. Even though he trusts his quatermaster, he´s not a person to leave things at coincidence, not when so much is in risk, so much was awaited from him and there was so much he wanted from this fight. He did it. He managed. They managed.

 

And Silver moved with earth itself.

 

But despite all of this, all of these thoughts, he´s not looking at Silver across the river. Although Silver might think he is. He´s watching the women at his side. Madi.

 

She is the key.

 

\---

 

He meets her at her hut. She awaits him already. She understood immediately from his face and gestures across the water, that he wants to speak with her. Clever girl, he thinks, with a small smirk passing his face. First of today.

 

She is standing in the middle of the room, upright, with determined face and no trace of happiness for their victory, just waiting for his words. He notices her noble holding of shoulders, her ebony arms, tight waist and smooth line of hips. Elegantly folded hands on her stomach. She is strong and beautiful. No woman in London could ever match her, he´s sure of it. A queen.

 

He bows his head down slightly to salute her.

 

She doesn´t move an inch.

 

"I need to speak with you, about a matter of high significance for me." he says. No titles, no names. In fact he doesn´t really now, how to address her. And there is no place for mistakes now.

 

"Congratulation for your victory, Captain."

 

"Ehm, yes, thanks…" The fight slipped of his mind already. Despite his clothed are still soaked with blood. Somewhere the blood must even be dripping from him. There´s a small spot under him on the floor yet, a red spot, that he didn´t noticed before. Then he remembers, what he should reply: "Your gratulations are welcome but I must congratulate you as well. As it is as much your victory as mine. It´s our victory. There´ s no difference, it is our common goal. You want to defeat England as much as I do. Maybe even more."

 

 A slightest smile crosses her face: "You´re right, Captain." A good sign. He can maybe address her now with his subject of concern. He studies her face once more. Two quiet storms watching each other.

 

"But you came with something on your mind, I think." she suddenly change her tone of voice into a friendly one, conversational almost, turns around to her table and then sits in a chair behind it.

"Sit down, please."

 

Once again he is a bit surprised by her behaviour, but all right, he sits down in a chair opposite to her. Like an honest citizen coming to an officer to ask a permission for something. Not a right constellation maybe, but it will must do.

 

He decides to go to the core directly.

 

"I want Silver to be present to our future meetings. I mean our meeting about our future steps in this war." he says, his eyes piercing hers.

 

"He will be provided with every information needed." she responses. Her face shows no difference.

 

" Yes, I believe it. I know you are close to him and tell him everything he needs. As will I…"

 

"This is not about being close, Captain." her voice just a tone rougher than before.

 

"I know," he tries to calm her by putting his hands up in a defensive gesture, "it is just… I know also that we have agreed before with the Queen, your mother, that every decision would be made amongst captains and a deputy from your side. Nobody else."

 

"Yes , right, we want to have a clear table, too many peop-"

 

"And I want John there" he interrupts her. It slips from his mouth just like this. She lifts her gaze from the table quickly, eyes wide. Oops.

He has to continue. " I would like to have Mr. Silver there, as an equal to all of us."

 

"Why? I can´t see a reason to it. You will be there for the Walrus. If we accept it, we could take other ships´ quatermaster at the table too. And then maybe also the bosuns." she spits out in mockery, "Will you come tomorrow and request to take Mr. Bones amongst us too? No, Mr. Flint, there is no place for exceptions. No place for it, even if I like Mr. Silver much more than I like you." She is standing now.

"If this is all you wanted, I must disappoint you. If this is all, you may leave now."

 

"It is the sole matter for which I came, yes, but I won´t go, with all respect, I won´t.  It is too important for me." He sits still, but his gaze on her is strong, as his voice is. His hands gripping to the armrests of the chair. "Mr. Silver will sit with us this evening, or I won´t sit there. I have my reasons, among them also the fact, that his skills in strategy are improving every day, his skills in managing the men - all of them, even yours - is beyond anybody´s, his eyes and his mind can observe and capture things, that are foreign to us. And this is just a part. We need him. I am not doing this for my personal interest,  I am asking you to do this for our common goal. To defeat England. And I believe, as never before, that we need the voice of Mr. Silver at the table over there, to compete our task, to identify all risks and all possibilities. Nobody amongst captains, amongst other leaders has his point of view of the world. We need him there." He stands and suddenly he is reaching for her ebony hand. Her eyes are still wide, but she doesn´t stop him.

The last words come from his lips as a whisper: "Madi, give John Silver  the seat. I beg you."  Her hand is now firmly in his. She looks at their joined hands and then up to his eyes again. Then behind him, into the wide space of the forest, where other men are still collecting the left guns, swords and dead bodies.

 

She stands still, just like this, her warm hand in his, for a while. A while that seems like ages to him.

 

Her face stays still like an ebony statue, wooden masterpiece, that could be designed by Michelangelo itself, he thinks. All the grace of the world.

 

Then she looks at him again. She slips her hand away.

 

And she nods.

 

\---

 

Silver is exhausted. Glad, that he survived, yes. And also proud of himself, for making a good decision. He smiles for himself - and proud for proving a point to Flint.

He is still standing at the board of the river. He should most probably go somewhere else, somewhere, where he could have  a moment of peace to take off his boot and massage the rest of his leg. He feels it now. Not during the battle. Not directly after it, when he saw Flint appear from the woods.

 

Looking like an animal after hunting his lunch. Uncivilized. Wild.

 

 A weapon, about which he is now sure, that he´s able to point it in the right direction. That he can influence him more, than he ever could before. He could do that. The power is throbbing in his veins.

 

The Darkness.

 

"Fuck." the hiss escapes his lips. And then more quietly, just under his moustache, he talks to himself: "You must hold on,  John. Don´t do something stupid. This isn´t what you want. Is it?" No, it isn´t, he thinks. The absolute control of his captain won´t bring him joy, he is sure of it. She warned him not to go too far. Not to take everything the Darkness offers. And he will listen.

 

Funny, how it never occurred to him before, that all he ever wanted was some other intelligent mind, with which he could debate. He thought that his loneliness before was enough. He outwitted most, he had an easy life. A life from day to day, but easy. He got along with almost everybody, he could think as them (not a hard work with most), laugh at the same jokes (even if he thought them banal), tell the same stories (just a bit better maybe), admire the same whores (yeah, that would do, although he would never trust them, as some men do). Just sometimes there was a feeling of being endlessly tired of all of this. Tired and most of all - unsatisfied.

 

Oh, he is tired now also. He must half-smile at it once again. Yes, exhausted, but satisfied. He is respected now. He has his crew. But most importantly, he has somebody to talk with during long nights. Not only to laugh at silly jokes, not only to tell stories, definitely not to admire whores (oh yes, that one is more than clear now) … A person with which he can have a real conversation.

 

He needs a dialogue. A partner.

 

In fact he didn´t talk to his "partner" since the end of the battle. So he takes the direction to where he hopes to find what he needs.

 

\---

 

 

"Madi."

The name is no more than a breath parting his lips. She turns her head to him a bit and a small smile softens her face.

They are both staying in her hut, she and Silver. He came here directly.

 

…

 

\---

 

"You are supposed to attend tonight´s meeting of captains."

This is Madi´s first notion towards him. Oh, not the first. First her smile drops. Something had happened here before he came, he´s one  hundred percent positive about it.  But wait, what did she just say?

 

"John Silver, do you listen? Tonight you will sit with us and discuss our next steps." she adds.

 

"I heard you. I… I just don´t ... Why?" He must admit, he is confused. Although he´s rather pleased by the thought.

"Not that I am complaining, but isn´t Flint sitting in your small "council" or whatever it is? For the Walrus? I thought that quatermasters aren´t invited." He must be some sort of respected amongst the maroons. Firstly the treasure position, now this. He hopes it doesn´t imply that he will have to be against Flint during the meeting. Oh, he thinks , maybe this is it? Flint came to Madi earlier, he saw him heading over here, maybe they argued about something? Some strategy? Maybe Madi hopes to find an ally against some of Flint´s plans? Fuck, this isn´t good at all.

 

"I´m not supposed to tell you my reasons, this is a final decision." her voice is hard and don´t give place for discussion.

Then, after a pause, a softer sentence slips out of her lips: "Will you come?"

 

Ok, so no other information will be provided right now. Women are so complicated sometimes. Fuck you, how can I do this , when I don´t know, what you really want from me?

 

"Of course." he says instead.

 

\---

 

Meeting is over and there was no sign of any disagreement amongst Flint and Madi. Silver is partly happy about it, but part of him is confused. He is still grateful for being in this "fucking war-against-England council", as he named it for himself, he contributed with his ideas and observations and yes, he had some stuff to say. Maybe he is still suprised how well his points were taken. Despite everything, he´s never been a perfect sailor, never made a strategy for a battle, no matter if a sea one or on soil, never thought about making war against anybody before meeting Flint, to be honest. Nevertheless he´s here. And he had been listened to.

 

But Flint didn´t look at slightest surprised by his presence. In fact he barely looked at him at all, except for the moment he stepped in the room.

 

 In the beginning, when he appeared in the door, everybody´s eyes where on him, every face reacted somehow. Rackham put a small half-smile on his lips and snorted a bit. Anne just flashed a disgusted look at him and then one more at Flint. Blackbeard just raised his airbrows, but shook his shoulder as if he doesn´t try to make sense of any of this anymore. Flint´s look at him was … as usual.

 

No, wait, not as usual, more like he was waiting for him to come. Weird...

 

\---

 

During all the meeting, Flint tries not to look at Silver too often, not to pin point his notes to the discussion too heavily. He tries to take him as anybody else in the room. As if everybody here can be equal partners to him. He most certainly fails in his attempt. At least he thinks so.

 

\---

 

"Wait."

 

It is more a request, than an order from Silver´s mouth, but still he can feel the urgence in it. He most certainly isn´t in the mood to talk to him right now. He is too much tired from all of this. Meetings. Arguments. Guns. War. Trying to seem like nothing happened since this morning, apart from winning the battle. Like Silver wasn´t occupying almost whole his mind.

 

But he can still feel the earth slightly trembling under his feet.

 

"I said wait a moment." He can hear a rushly moving chair behind his back. The specific clack of the boot on the soil of the hut.  He falters a bit.

 

"Fuck!" A rumble of noise, and - shit! He turns just in time to see Silver falling on the ground. With a small hiss on his lips, but nothing bad, fortunately, he managed to slow the fall by holding on the table. Still his stump must hurt now.

 

"Are you all right?", Flint hears himself, an echo of his past demands.

 

"No", Silver looks up at him, and then slowly gets back on his feet, just to sit down back into his chair a moment later. Flint waits on spot.

 

"No, most certainly not. But, again, it isn´t  about my leg. I don´t get _you_. You hardly spoke to me since the battle. Then you almost don´t look at me during all this fucking meeting, council, or whatever. You don´t say anything to support my ideas, even though I am quite sure, they accord with yours! Da fuck do _you_ think _I_ can think about all of this? Madi giving me this post in council, most probably to oppose you here in some aspects, to make you think I feel the urge to be as "important" as you, to argue with you for their points or to, to… I fucking have no idea! And you? You don´t even blink.   I suppose you didn´t even know I will be here, I wanted to tell you about it bef-

 

"I did know.", Flint interrupts Silver´s fiery monologue.

 

Silver stops, his mouth forming a perfect "oh" just for a second. And then: "Madi informed you?"

 

"I suggested it" he comes a bit closer to the chair, where Silver is sitting, now perfectly surprised. Then he stops and hesitates a bit, before adding,  just to make it clear: "In fact, I had to insist on it."

 

Now, the "oh" comes out audibly. "I thought it´s like with the treasure…" Silver is now scanning the floor with his eyes. Flint thinks he didn´t saw so much confusion in this man´ s face for a very long time. Maybe never.  But it disappears quickly, Silver retake the eye contact with him, and he realises he is standing very close now. Just next to the chair, he could touch Silver´s shoulder, if he wanted. If it was appropriated in their relationship. Which, to be honest to himself, most probably isn´t.

 

"I thought you weren´t speaking to me this afternoon because my words went truth. Because I won. Because, maybe, you really started fearing me… or something like this." Silver´s face is calm now, but there is a hint of something very hard to describe. Maybe he´s mistaken, but - could it be worry?

"Over the river, I saw you, I saw the beast still pulsing in you, not really persuaded, that the fight was over for you. I thought you were afraid of something, or determined to do,  or - for god´s sake, you could give me just a glance!

 

"Shut up." he says. Silver silences.

"Just stop talking, and maybe you will get your answer." he starts smiling by the time he ends this sentence.

"You are truly amazing, you know that?", another memory coming to his mind, while he says it, " you have your victory over me, you say you´re not afraid of me anymore, you have a seat at the council, you get your points discussed, have an influence on the Queen´s daughter, same for our men, even for those who could easily hate you, you have it all and still, you´re bitching here because, wait, what? Because I didn´t looked at you enough during the council?"

 

"Well, that´s not exactly what I meant…" Silver´s cheeks may or may not be starting to blush a bit by now. He likes it. So as he likes the waves of his curls dancing around his shoulder, when he wants to deny things, the velvet of his voice, when he tries to get something out of him or convince him about his opinion, his clever ideas, his bright mind and silver tongue. All of this. Even his lies.

 

"Mr. Silver, take this note.  My respect for you may have considerably grown since this morning and certainly I see more value in you and your abilities every day. _That_ ´s why I insisted that you must have a chair at council. Because you, to me _at least_ , " the corner of his mouth elevating to an half smile, "you are much more important in this war, in its strategies, than for example this funny man Rackham could ever be."  he finishes with a smirk for himself. He falls back to serious tone, the one that scares all his enemies, that makes them run away: "And I don´t care, what maroons think of it, what other fucking captains think of it, what the queens or kings think of it, what anybody here can say to this matter." And with his gaze always penetrating the blue of Silver´s: "You are important."

 

\---

 

Madi stays by her window by now, once again hypnotizing the black depth of the forest, where the fight was held this very morning. Her posture still strong, nobody shall ever see her weak. But in her mind, thoughts are whirling. The fight, this war, all of it - it isn´t so right, it isn´t easy to convince herself every day, that she is doing really the best for her people. So many dead and wounded. So many sacrifices to be made. So much pain to be endured.

And too many dangers laying outside this island, too many people, that can despise her. Despise her men. And her women and children. Just because of the colour of their skin. They will try to hurt them, she is sure of it.

 

And pirates? Flint, Rackham, Blackbeard? She doesn´t really believe they would ever make an alliance with her people, if they weren´t so desperate. She doesn´t trust them truly not to turn their back at her, when it´s all over. She is risking, but she isn´t naive.

 

But hell, she can _not_ care about their motivation right now. Right now they´re fighting for a similar cause. To defeat this english so called "civilization". To grace the _New_ world with a _new_ order.  And if she ever wants for her brothers and sisters to have a voice in this new world, she has to ensure to be part of the power, which will establish it.

She has to be the one to create it.

 

Nevertheless, there surely is one man - white man - that she believes to help her. To be with her through good and bad. A man with clever wits and righteous heart at the same time. A man with power of persuasiveness. A silently, but strongly walking cat, that she imagines him, he was before he lost his leg. A lion - with all natural respect - which he is now. John Silver.

 

He will held her cause. He will protect her.

 

"My queen? Are you all right?"

 

She turns abruptly. One of her guard is standing in the door. She smiles at him kindly: "I´m fine. You can go home, now. I don´t think there could be anybody anymore, who would dare to harm me."

 

With a bow, the man turns around and walks down the stairs of the hut to disappear in the dark.

 

Madi looks after him for a long time. Thinking about his future. Future of his wife, his children.

 

Yes, John Silver, he will always stand by her side. He is reliable.

And clever enough not to do a stupid thing.

 

\---

 

…

 

Silver doesn´t really know, how this happened.

One moment he´s sitting on the chair, Flint threatening all the world, if it doesn´t take him - his quatermaster - seriously, and the very next second he´s standing in front of his captain.

Standing and crushing lips against his.

 

Fuck.

 

 

Fuck. That´s all Silver thinks right now.

 


End file.
